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Letters to the Editor for April 11, 2017

As Co-Chair of the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus, I feel that the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one of the world's foremost medical research centers, is our nation's Department of Defense for America's personal health.

Letters to the Editor for April 11, 2017

Rep. Cohen's logic flawed on call to up NIH spending

If U.S. Representative Steve Cohen thinks a larger NIH budget in lieu of a strong defense budget will improve our country, his logic is naïve at best, and at worst, distorted (4-10-17 CA letter, “Cohen: Trump’s proposed cut to NIH budget affects Memphis institutions”). Proposing that an outside attack on the U. S. is “rather slim” is basically a form of isolationist mentality (only a Republican philosophy?), a denial of the reality which has allowed terrorism to gain a firm hold on our society. And citizens should question what our health expenditure is used for. The majority of the diseases he lists as needy are caused by toxic excesses, fueled by poor choices and abetted by greedy industries taking advantage of ignorance and sloth. Cohen might be more credible if he was more specific about how and where the problem of social diseases should be approached, not just by throwing out more money for grabs. Also, in the same issue of The CA, Cohen speaks again about Trump’s pot policy as being hazy (CA LOCAL, TN IN DC)), intimating that Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is pot friendly at heart (why?, I guess because he is younger and has residual “Democratic DNA” from his father who became a crossover Republican.) The blanket legalization and licensing of marijuana will effectively compound the cost of health care and counter-productively require more “military” spending to combat a type of “domestic terrorism.”Charles Hubbert, Memphis

President Trump playing high-stakes game with Syria

President Trump is playing a high stakes poker game. First he bluffs the Syrian President Assad by saying that the Syrian people should remove him. Assad takes the bluff and gases innocent children which causes Trump to retaliate. Gassed children are so horrible that most people don't know what's happening. This was a timed event so that the Chinese Leader was in Florida when Trump bombed Syria. This is an attempt to deflect our attention from the fact that President Trump wants a war, most likely with North Korea.
He is playing each side against the other and dead children are the result. This kind of bluff vs. bluff will get the US into an un-winnable war. We are already in three un-winnable wars, and we do not need another. As a veteran of Vietnam, another un-winnable war, we must stand up against this sort of foreign non-diplomacy actions. Trump told us in the campaign that he would not reveal his plans of action until after he acted. He thinks and acts like he can bluff and bully people around. War is not the answer. It is the problem and negotiation is harder to win but much better.Joe Gillis, Adamsville, Tennessee

Report positive news for a change

I second the letter submitted by Thomas Lukas, Lakeland (April 8, 2017, "Memphis is a great city and media need to report that").
I am a lifelong Memphian and I know everything in this city is not perfect. However, we have much for which to be proud and thankful. I also suggest all news media, TV, radio and print media to focus on positive, not negative news. Give us NEWS worth reporting rather than crime scenes all the time. I have counted the number of crime reports numerous times and written to the TV stations requesting they report positive news. I spent last week in Dallas and they reported positive local news, but also news from Washington, D.C., New York and other places. Crime is not BREAKING NEWS. It is reporting on bad behavior, and so many times it is committed by persons that know each other and had a disagreement and fight. Let's report positive news for a change.Bob Dawkins, Cordova

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